Tag Archives: What’s next

The Diary of a Slow Traveller

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Slow travel is quite simply not being in a hurry. Slow Travel happens when you don’t have a deadline or timeline hanging over you.

It’s about taking your time to get somewhere and when you do, taking the time to appreciate it. It is as a fellow blogger put it “being where you are, not about what you do”. It’s about soaking in the experience because Slow Travel is a state of mind.

Why would someone become a Slow Traveller? In part the perfect response is because they can. The time for Slow Travel is when you don’t have to be somewhere anytime soon. What “soon” means is upto you! Continue reading →

My Blog is Three!

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Source – Daily Mail Australia

So my blog turned three in the last few days.

It survived the “Terrible Twos” with sporadic posts on topics ranging from travel, music, books, What’s Next, and study.

What my blog celebrates most is the period of transition that the last three years have been. It started three years ago with a post about The Adelaide Crows close loss to Hawthorn in the 2012 Prelimanry Final and just a week before its third birthday, The Adelaide Crows had a not so close loss to Hawthorn in another final. Most significantly my blog’s third birthday coincides with completion of my Honours Thesis (due in just a few weeks).

Three years ago I decided that I needed a reason to write as I pursued options to position myself  for What’s Next and a blog seemed a good idea. A reason to write a thousand words a month, a goal that has well and truly been achieved in each and every month since, by way of blog posts, articles for The Adelaide Review and University assignments that will culminate in few weeks time with about 20,000 words in the form of my Thesis.

So my blog’a third birthday is perhaps best described as the first chapter of What’s Next. It has been a place to experiment; writing about different things and recording thoughts about the stages of What’s Next. Importantly for me it has provided a contemporary record of what I was thinking across a significant period of my life. 

Now as my blog enters its fourth year I expect my blog will record events  that occur as I move past What’s Next, exit transition and get on with it. It will be a place to write about our three months in Italy, my progress into academia which hopefully next year will see me commence my PhD, and to continue to write about books I’ve found interesting and of course music.

Happy Third Birthday browney237.com.

Source : www.walkitoffrecovery.org

Planning – Italy 2015

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Mt Etna

Mt Etna

For the very few of you who have followed my blog since it early days (apart from thank you) you will know that as I focussed on “What’s next” I have wanted to spend 3 months in Italy. In Novemebr 2015 we will – well almost- Insurance and Visa rules mean it will be a few days short.

Agrigento - Sicily

Agrigento – Sicily

On insurance, my new post fulltime work cost saving regime means we will use our credit card policy which allows only 90 days for the trip. While on the cost cutting, yet again, I couldn’t face the cost of Business Class (just over double the cost of economy). We have decided however that we will only do daytime flights – we are not in a hurry.

To do this we enlisted the support of a travel agent something we haven’t done on recent trips given the resources available online. Our initial discussions weren’t that fruitful with agents suggesting that it really wasn’t feasible. Then we stumbled upon a very helpful travel agent who seemed to immediately grasp the idea. She understood that we are not we weren’t in a hurry so flying in a number of steps is not a problem to us. Infact the whole idea of this holiday is slow travel – apparently this brings the cost down? Using stop-overs in Singapore,Sri Lanka and Dubai we land in Milan having flown only during the day. Our return will be Rome, Dubai, Singapore, then home via Perth. To claim the Perth leg is a day flight is a stretch (lands at midnight) but it is only a short hop from Singapore – so I will claim it. We won’t have to attempt to sleep on the plane which is something I really struggle with. It also provides an opportunity to spend a few days in Sri Lanka, something that wasn’t on our agenda previously and for my favourite person it will be her first visit to Singapore. Continue reading →

Book Review Man on the Run, Paul McCartney in the 1970s

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Source : Amazon.com

There were two reasons that I bought Tom Doyle’s book Man on the Run, Paul McCartney in the 1970s. The first my love of The Beatles and the second my interest in exploring “What’s Next”.

Given my age, my love of The Beatles started about the time of their breakup. My first record was Abbey Road. I have all of their albums and listen to them along with a large slice of their post Beatle individual contributions on a regular basis.

In and earlier post I have mentioned that I have been to The Dakota Building and Straberry Fields in Central Park. All part of paying homage to the greatest band of all time.  That said, when it comes to The Beatles individually my favourite has always been Paul and particularly his time with Wings. I was lucky enough to see them in 1975 on their Australian tour.

So about the book as after all this is a review!

Through access to those individuals who were around Paul including the other Beatles across the 70s, Doyle tells a story that he rightly points out has had little exposure beyond the public slanging match between Lennon and McCartney and Paul’s well publicized drug busts. The book addresses these openly but not in a sensional manner and perhaps even more importantly in context.
In a sentence, the book starts with the end of the Beatles and tragically ends at the time of the death of John Lennon. 

I find the context particularly interesting given my interest in “What’s Next”. Early on we get a pretty raw account of the difficulty Paul McCartney faced; moving from being at the top as a member of the greatest band of all time and then  seeing it all end well before he was 30. It is no wonder he and his new wife fled to Scotland to hide!

Doyle recounts Paul’s early post Beatles solo career. The formation of Wings and Linda’s role in the band which was always controversial. Denny Laine, one of Doyle’s major sources apart from McCartney himself, provides great insight as to Linda’s importance in keeping Paul out of his personal post Beatles malaise. It is an important reminder of the central role Linda played in Paul’s life.  Infact perhaps she  was the true hero in the 1970s Paul McCartney story,  rather than the villain she is so often portrayed. There are also insights into his family life which seemed to cycle from idyllic farm life to the choatic life of a rock band. This perhaps is also a sign of the challenges being faced by someone who has been to the top and is then faced with a void to be filled. One minute living the quiet family life away from it all and the next craving the bright lights and publicity. All provide insights as to how Paul dealt with his early post Beatles days.

The Wings tour of Australia gets a mention with special attention given to the Norman Gunston interview which in my opinion it is one of the most hilarious interviews of all time. In truth, it is this period of Paul McCartney’s post Beatle life that I am most familiar. This is  perhaps not surprisingly given as Doyle notes, the enormous success that the Wings US tour followed by the painstakingly  MCartney mastered triple live album and video Rockshow. 

References to the relationship between Paul and John play an important but not pivotal role in the book. McCartney and Lennon’s post Beatle interactions were bitter sweet . On occasions they and their wives enjoyed each others company and then on others the relationship was decidedly frosty. Again perhaps this is how it is after people move on from an intense relationship – a reminder that it can never truly be the same.

I can’t deny that I didn’t find the references to Paul and John’s relationship the most interesting aspect of the book. However it was also interesting to reflect on, how in the post Beatles phase Paul could ever have thought his fellow Wings members ever be his equal, why did Paul want an amateur (Linda) in a world touring successful rock band and why did he record Mary had a little Lamb? Doyle gives us insights into each and much more.

It’s  well worth a read.

Other posts on The Beatles and Paul McCartney :

The only thing you did was Yesterday
The Beatles Boxed Set
Memories of a Great Concert

Status Update – the completion of the first month of “What’s Next”

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Wow a month down already. Where did I have time for work?

My thesis is now back on track. I’d ignored it over the month of March as I wound out of life at my firm. I then submitted a draft of my Research Design Chapter that my supervisor said just wasn’t OK. I’ve now resubmitted it and got the OK to proceed. My data collection is moving forward with a number of hills wineries now interviewed. I still have a number to do. The interview transcripts are coming back for review and analysis. I have also made a start on my Introduction and Literature Revew a chapters. 

I have continued with my Uni tutoring, have completed one guest lecture in an MBA Program and have been invited to give another. I have also been asked to act as Research Assistant in a new project – that’s exciting! I have also at the advice of my supervisor started to meet with potential supervisors for my PhD which I hope to commence in early 2016,

I have also formalised some advisory opportunities and started to meet with my new clients. That too is very exciting and so rewarding. I am also excited at the discussions I’ve had with people about other opportunities to build new and interesting networks. 

Then there is bike riding. I’ve met my objective of riding to Mt Lofty at least once each week and increased my kilometres significantly. My objective of 2500 kilometers by 30 June may have been a little ambitious but I am getting into the hills more regularly, getting fitter and losing weight.

Then there is the matter of our plans for Italy later in the year. We have settled on an a basic itinerary and are thrilled that each of our children are planning to spend some time with us in Sicily. We still have six months before we leave so plenty of time to plan.

Oh, I have also had a few work commitments to attend too as well.